A review by thirdcoast
Aegypt by John Crowley

1.0

I came across the last book in this series and it sounded really interesting, so I dug up the first book, this book, and looked forward to it. All I can say is that it is a major letdown. Neat idea, or captivating at least, but poor execution. It felt like it took three-hundred pages just to get the story to start and that was at the end. The historical fiction parts were boring. It all fits together, and I think the reader is supposed to have this moment when they realize that the book they are reading mirrors the one that the character is trying to write. However, things like that have been done by others and far better. I wasn't staggered by this realization, just let down. The novel doesn't flow well either. You want something to happen and progress to be made, and it just takes a thirty to fifty page flashback that is not interesting and doesn't really move the story forward. Everything is jumbled even down to the sentences which seem to langor in their own obscure style to the point that it is hard to make sense of things.